Sunday, April 05, 2009

The Curious Case of the Missing MoJo

This weekend, my BFF and I headed down to Natchitoches for the 14th Annual Natchitoches Jazz/R&B Festival. It was a much, much, needed break for both of us and after a few hours of phone calls from home, a little drama, we broke free from "mother" mode and headed out about 7:00pm to the Cane River, downtown Natchitoches, to party...Louisiana style. We stopped by a local store, purchased some wine and a Bubbakeg, and popped in some Indigo Girls to get in the mood. Suddenly, our mothering, brooding, boring selves began to slip away and we started to loosen up. The night air was perfect, 68 degrees, a slight breeze and intoxicating music, all set against the beautiful backdrop of the dark, river. We found a stage featuring Trombone Shorty and we commenced to having a blast. Seriously. More fun than a freakin' barrel of monkeys. We celebrated life and found a little joy. Something we've both been missing for quite a while.

We danced, we hollered (only in the south, my friends), we sang, and laughed. Much laughter. And smiled. I'm not even kidding! I could not stop smiling and neither could C. The band was incredible, the crowd enthusiastic and not too large, we found a spot right up front. And for an hour and a half we were infused with the most incredible jazz and rhythm and blues. We were like little kids. Kids with kegs of wine!

If you've ever seen the movie Steel Magnolias, you've seen a piece of Natchitoches. At the end of the movie, there's an easter egg hunt on a steep slope covered with waving, lush green grass. That slope is the levee of the Cane River. Last night, as we were winding down, C and I were sitting at the top of the levee, sipping our wine, gazing at the stars and basking in our new found freedom. She looks at me and says, "You want to go down and buy a t-shirt?" "Yep," I answered. "Let's slide down," she said mischievously. And we did. Giggling all the way down.

What a beautiful city. What a beautiful night. What a beautiful state. And the music...ahhh, the music. Nothin' like it in the world.